The present invention generally relates to protection of electronic equipment. The invention relates more specifically to an electromagnetic interference (EMI) gasket for electronic equipment such as a printed circuit board carrier.
The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) can disrupt the operation and performance of electrical circuits. EMI affects a circuit when the circuit is in the vicinity of an electromagnetic field in the RF (radio frequency) spectrum. Therefore, printed circuit boards (PCBs), and electronic equipment in general, often require protection from EMI.
A common method of protecting electrical circuitry from EMI relies on installation of an EMI gasket on printed circuit board carriers, housings, equipment chassis, and the like (hereinafter referred to simply as xe2x80x9ccarriersxe2x80x9d). A common gasket used for EMI protection comprises a metal strip with slits oriented parallel to the direction of travel of the carrier when installing it. The slits assist the gasket in complying with irregularities in the sealing surface, as well as making the gasket more physically compliant in general.
FIG. 1 is a top view of an EMI gasket 100 used to protect electronic equipment. Gasket 100 comprises a plurality of slits, all of which are collectively referred to as slits 102, that are perpendicular to edges 104, 106 and parallel to the ends 108, 110 of gasket 100.
Installation configurations for electronic equipment often require stacking PCB carriers on top of each other or closely adjacent to each other. Furthermore, some electronic components require EMI gaskets on both upper and lower surfaces of the component or associated carrier. These EMI and installation requirements can result in a situation in which the bottom gasket of one carrier must mate with and seal against the top gasket of a neighboring or adjacent carrier.
In such a scenario, when using gaskets configured like gasket 100, the mating gaskets frequently snag on each other during installation and removal, due to the slit configuration. Typically, when mating gaskets snag on each other, one or both of the gaskets are damaged, thereby creating an unacceptable assembly.
Based on the foregoing, there is a clear need for an improved mechanism for controlling electromagnetic interference with respect to electrical circuits or printed circuit boards. There is a more specific need for an improved gasket that is able to be installed and seal with another gasket without snagging.